Mladen- There's always the Easy Connect Naming Method (http://download-east.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/network.102/b14212/na ming.htm#i498306) which lets you connect to an instance using DNS resolution only. Thanks, e. Eric Gross Mr. Database GridApp Systems Ph: (646) 452-4050 egross@xxxxxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mladen Gogala Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 11:18 AM To: oracle-l Subject: Tnanames.ora Is there anything else for name resolution, except OID and tnsnames? I am not installing yet another database just for the name resolution. There used to be Oracle*Names, but some smart guy decided not to support it. Is everybody on NIS mapped tnsnames.ora files, like me or is there a better solution? -- Mladen Gogala Sr. Oracle DBA Video Monitoring Systems 1500 Broadway New York City, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 329-5201 Email: mgogala@xxxxxxxxxxx -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l